Finley & Freckles

Finley has lovingly named her American Girl doll, Freckles...only Finley and Mommy can hear Freckles talk, because we are girls!  :)  Finley takes very good care of Freckles and the two of them often look very similar to one another!

No Fun!

Our family has been plagued by sickness over the last couple weeks.  First Ace got the stomach flu in the middle of the night on Valentine's Day.  Poor little guy!  He was out of it for a good 12 hours and did not like "spitting up" as he called it!  I don't blame him.  Then, that weekend, Finley came down with the flu and while I was on the couch with her, Brent came and gave me AJ because he had it as well!  UFF!  Unfortunately, the bug did not miss AJ and he came down with the flu that Sunday...our washer/dryer ran non-stop for almost 4 days straight.  I remember looking at the clock on Sunday and thinking, "Oh my...it's only 1 pm!"  It felt like the longest weekend of my life.  For whatever reason, the bug missed me (thank goodness) and now everyone (except for me again) has bronchitis/RSV.  

I stayed home from work last Monday to be with Finley...this picture was taken at about 10:30, and when she woke up, she asked where Ace was, and said she missed him!  I knew then, she felt better!  :)

That Daddy!

Can you hear the laughter from the kids...and ME...as Brent showed off his jumping skills?  :)



V-Day

The kids all wore red on the day of their Valentine's Day party at Lynn's...and had a good, sugar-filled day!  :)

 Taking a break after supper to relax...

 Before opening Mommy & Daddy's treats...a Harold for Ace

 Hmmm...not much for AJ!  Sorry bud!  :)

And flashcards for Finley!

The Boys

One evening while AJ was rolling around on his blanket, Ace decided to spread his blanket out too and join in the fun!



 Ace moving in to say "hi" to AJ!

 AJ rolls all over our living room...turn your head for just a second and he's gone 5 feet!

 Could the two boys look more different?  :)

 I hope this is the start of a great friendship!

 At this point, Ace was complaining that AJ was "getting me"!  He better toughen up!  Ha!

There's a smile as AJ chews on his hair a little!

Treats

Lynn sent home Valentine treats for the three kids...

 Finley opened the large bag under Rookie's supervision...

 Ace helped too!

 Lynn had a photo album of pictures she had taken throughout the year - so fun to have a little glimpse at what the kiddos days are like when we are at work!

 To Ace!

 "What's in it bud?"

 To Finley!

 AJ got a box of rice cereal...I love the excited look on Ace's face!  :)

 "Bear Hugs" from Lynn...Teddy Grahams & Gummie Bears!  Two of Ace's favorite things!

And juice boxes!  I love that my kids get excited over the "little things"!

Sunday Project

 From this I made...

 THIS!  A "Valentine" dress for Miss Finley!

Best part...the price!  :)

Blue Eyes

It's so weird for me to look into AJ's eyes and see the color blue...I keep waiting for them to change to brown like the other two...but I think the blue is here to stay!  

Handsome, big, blue eyes!

That Boy

Ace loves to make people laugh...the other day he made us laugh by putting on Daddy's glasses!  :)

Doesn't he look smart...and serious!

Photos by Kori

Present

Last weekend our neighbors dropped off a fun puzzle for the kiddos...and Finley and I put it together last night.  She is so patient and willing to learn!  I love puzzles and am hopeful that one day she will sit with me and spend a weekend putting one together.  

 Placing the last piece...

 Proud of her hard work!

The puzzle reverses to another picture...stay tuned to see if we can figure that side out too!  Ace took it apart this morning so we can't just flip it!  Ha!

Food Challenge

Brent and I enjoyed a night out of the house, without kids, and with friends last Saturday.  We helped Luke & Jeremy celebrate their January birthdays...and they chose to do another eating challenge!

 Looking confident before the time began...

 The challenge was...3 1/2 lb. burger patties, 8 slices of pepperjack cheese, 8 slices of bacon, BBQ sauce, and jalepenos on a huge bun...and 1 1/2 lbs. of fries...in 30 MINUTES!

 Slowing down and looking miserable as time ran out...

 Jeremy somehow managed to finish his burger, but could not finish the fries!

Luke had burger and fries left...UFF!

Where is the challenge going to be NEXT year?  :)

Exersaucer

We got the exersaucer out last weekend and cleaned it up for AJ...

 Ace...I said we cleaned it for AJ!  :)

 AJ loving his new "toy"...

...just as much as the two older kiddos did!

Awana

Last week Finley got to wear shorts and sunglasses to Awana for beach night.  She did not want to put sweatpants on over top of her shorts...but it was January in WI and mom insisted!  :)

 So cute!

 I dug out a pair of sunglasses for Ace too!

These two love each other so much...here they are "touching glasses".